This week's Famitsu contains major updates on the development of Final Fantasy XIII Versus. Notably, the game itself is not yet in production—shocking.
Beyond that, the update focuses on the company's intention to make each and every cutscene within the game interactive. The studio decided to remove non-interactive cutscenes to keep the player immersed within the game. Much like Half-Life 2, the player will remain in control of their character during these cutscenes instead of having control taken away from them.
Lead developer Tetsuya Nomura says that he intends for the game's dialogue and cutscenes to be realistic—akin to a movie, rather than a game. The less we have of the laughing scene in Final Fantasy 9, the better.
As the game has yet to enter into full production, Square Enix was unable to provide screenshots of the actual game to the public, although the editors of Famitsu magazine were treated to three new visuals, which were said to be taken in real-time from the game, as opposed to CGI renders.
Nomura says that the game's development is currently limited to a few core members, who are currently making preparations to take the game into full development. While most of us have been lead to believe that the game had already entered into full production since its announcement in 2006, it appears that we may have to wait a few more years before Versus ever shows up for real.
Source: Andriasang
